Esquire Financial (NASDAQ:ESQ) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:ESQ) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $77.75, but opened at $80.61. Esquire Financial shares last traded at $79.27, with a volume of 17,106 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ESQ. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Esquire Financial from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Esquire Financial in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

Esquire Financial Stock Down 1.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $644.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.40.

Esquire Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Esquire Financial’s payout ratio is currently 12.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Esquire Financial news, Director Joseph Melohn sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.15, for a total transaction of $237,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $291,509.45. The trade was a 44.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rena Nigam bought 640 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $77.50 per share, for a total transaction of $49,600.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,692.50. This represents a 52.16 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 18.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ESQ. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Esquire Financial by 36.6% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial in the third quarter worth $54,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Esquire Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $59,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Esquire Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new position in Esquire Financial in the 2nd quarter worth $91,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.66% of the company’s stock.

Esquire Financial Company Profile

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Esquire Bank, National Association that provides commercial banking products and services to legal industry and small businesses, and commercial and retail customers in the United States. The company offers checking, savings, money market, and time deposits, as well as certificates of deposit.